Oh, Love & Peace!
by love-prerecorded
Summary: This story is based off a post I saw about Rin being MtF Trans. I fell in love with the concept and ran with it. This will be about her transitioning and striving to fit in at Otonokizaka High. While Romance isn't the main priority in this story, there definitely will be some. Mainly RinPana and NicoMaki, and implied KotoUmi and NozoEli. Minor trigger warning for any dysphoria.
1. Chapter 01

Chapter One

"You can have a seat wherever you would like. I'm sure you'll fit right in."

Judgmental eyes looked the nine year-old kid up and down, scrutinizing every detail to a T. If they made any sudden movements or said the wrong thing, the students would quickly form their opinion of them. Timidly, the child played with the hem of their spring green T-shirt to distract themselves. They didn't realize how nerve-wracking being the new student was until they were suddenly thrown into that position. Their mother's kind words from this morning were not enough to reassure them.

Their eyes quickly scanned across the room in search of an empty desk. They were wary about sitting by any of the classmates out of fear that they would eat him alive. Their eyes locked on a seat at an empty table in the back of the classroom.

 _'That one'll do for now,'_ they thought to themselves.

When the eyes of their classmates were no longer on them, the child let out a sigh they didn't realize they were holding.

With a scowl, the teacher glided over to them. She knelt down to their level. "Are you sure you want to sit over hit? It might be hard to see the board, plus you'll be alone."

The anxious child nodded without a word.

She gave them a sympathetic look, her thin eyebrows knit together. "Tell you what, I'll give you more time to decide. When you're certain of where you want to sit, you can let me know and I'll add it to the seating chart," she proposed.

The child nodded again.

"Don't worry. You're a nice a boy, everyone is going to love you if you give them the chance." With a small smile, the teacher playfully ruffled the child's pumpkin-colored hair and went back to the front of the classroom.

 _Boy._

When she was gone, the child unzipped their backpack and began placing their supplies inside of the desk one by one, from pencils to notebooks. They sighed again. Normally they weren't this shy and awkward, in fact at their old school they were quite the social butterfly. It was just now she was surrounded by many unfamiliar faces that judged their every movement and they could only open up when people talked to them first.

They glanced around again, trying to get used to the room. It was filled with colorful images and inspirational posters. On the left of their desk was a book shelf, teeming with books. Their neon green eyes scanned their way to the right of the room and they stopped on some poster with a cat on it that was probably supposed to be inspiring. They squinted their eyes.

A pair of demure lavender eyes behind glasses locked with theirs. They guessed that when their eyes were in that direction, it appeared that they were glaring at the poor girl. It wasn't the best first impression to make. With a timid blush, they gave the girl a tentative smile and turned to face the board as the teacher began to lecture.

They tried their best to pay attention but they couldn't help glancing back at the girl sitting on the other side of the classroom. She was also alone. Based on her body language and her small, cutesy handwriting, she appeared very closed off, delicate and introverted. She stared down at her hands folded together on her lap. Every time girl would look back at her, they would unsubtly narrow their eyes and pretend to be searching around the room for something only to return their eyes back to her as soon as the girl looked back at her hands.

They couldn't place it. For whatever reason, they found the lonely girl... intriguing. Was she also a new student? They wished that she would just speak to them first so that they'd have at least one friend.

They fidgeted in their seat, chewed on the end up their pencil, and adjusted their pant leg idly as the teacher droned on about multiplication tables. With one last glance to the right of the classroom, they took a deep breath. They quickly and quietly gathered all of their things into their backpack and stood up. They darted for the empty seat next to the girl who had picked her interest.

If they couldn't count on the girl to talk to them on her own, then they'd have to make the first move.

"Hi," they said timidly.

The girl squirmed in her seat and sputtered, looking for a response. "I-I'm sorry. If you think you'll see the board better from here I'll move!" she said in a hushed, breathy voice. She scrambled for all her belongings.

The child waved their arms. "No, no, that's okay! It's alright if you stay." They didn't anticipate on her being shy to _this_ extent. What had they gotten themselves into?

When the girl shut her notebook, they couldn't help but notice the pink cover of it. They gasped.

"Wait a second- is that Miyuki?" Bright ultramarine, unruly, shoulder length hair; piercing crimson eyes; a cute, petite body; a flashy, yet trendy outfit? It had to be none other than super idol Hanari Miyuki. Saying that they were merely just a fan was quite the understatement.

"Uh, y-yes... I really like her music, I guess..." the girl replied, fiddling with her fingers.

They couldn't help but beam at her. "She's the best, nya!" they claimed, albeit a little too loudly. They clapped their hands over their mouth and the girl seemed to shrink in her chair when all eyes were on them. "Sorry," they muttered.

When the attention was finally away from them, even the shy girl couldn't help but giggle and the sound of it made the child's heart warm.

"Um, anyway, my name's Ren," they said.

The girl's cheeks reddened and she didn't meet Ren's eyes. "U-uh, my name is Koizumi Hanayo..." she murmured softly, her voice trailed off at the end.

Ren scowled and scooted closer to the girl. "I didn't catch that." She turned her ear to the girl with two fingers behind it.

She sat up, cleared her throat, and spoke, this time slightly louder. "It's Hanayo."

"Oh, Hanayo? That's a pretty name."

Hanayo muttered a quiet thanks, keeping her gaze down at her lap.

Ren smiled; it seemed that she found her permanent seat.

* * *

Ren never suspected it at first, but they and Hanayo ended up being nearly inseparable once the introverted girl finally opened up to them. As it turned out, they had many things in common including their love of Hanari Miyuki. Speaking of idols, surprisingly Hanayo was absolutely captivated by them; it was a borderline obsession. She was a completely different person when the conversation topic turned to idols. She could dance the choreography to every idol song, sing all the lyrics, recount obscure information about the lives of idols, and she knew it all by heart. Ren loved this new quirky, firecracker side of Hanayo.

That wasn't to say that they didn't admire her softer, more delicate side. Ren was, at almost all times, full of energy and rather impulsive. Having someone like Hanayo by their side helped them to slow down and be more careful.

"I know you love cats more than anything, so do you have any pets at home?" Hanayo asked, sitting on her knees on her bed next to Ren.

Ren chuckled, shaking their head. "I actually don't have any, I'd be too allergic."

"What? That sucks!" The words escaped Hanayo's mouth before she could think. She quickly covered her mouth.

"Don't worry about it, Kayo-chin, it does kinda suck, nya," they replied with a shrug. Ren didn't quite remember where the nickname 'Kayo-chin' came from, but they both seemed to like it and it stuck.

"Sometimes I like to look at pictures of cats or I see them on TV. Of course it's not the same as actually owning one," they added.

Hanayo nodded. She took a bobby pin from the nightstand behind her bed and used it to pin Ren's bangs back. She took another and did the same to her own bangs. The two of them got off the bed and went over to the mirror next to her closet.

"So... do I look cute?" Ren asked warily.

Hanayo nodded with alacrity. "Mhmm! You're way cuter than me!"

Ren's cheeks reddened. "Uh-uh! You're the cute one! I'm just the clumsy, awkward one."

It wasn't unusual for Ren to hang out at Hanayo's house. They always enjoyed when Hanayo would put pins or bows in their hair or let them wear her skirts and dresses. Fortunately for them, they were about the same size. Sometimes they would sneak Hanayo's mother's makeup box into her Hanayo's bedroom and they would put some on each other. Their first attempts where they had no idea what they were doing were a sight to behold.

Ren loved to admire themselves in the mirror and twirl around in Hanayo's skirts because for that one short moment they would feel, well, cute.

When Ren's mother caught them at home in flowery skirts and makeup prancing around, she would simply arch a brow but then pay it no mind. She called it harmless behavior and just laughed it off. No one could deny how cute her Ren looked.

Ren thought that probably the main reason why they loved idols so much was because it seemed they could do anything they set their minds to: give hope, make a difference, change people's lives, and look cute while doing it.

As a way of fitting in with the boys in their class, Ren took on sports which they ended up actually being pretty good at and they even enjoyed them quite a bit. Still though, they couldn't help but envy seeing the girls try on nail polish, talk about idols, try on pretty clothes, and even gossip. Ren was happy that they had Hanayo to do all these things with behind closed doors.

One gorgeous spring day, Ren was feeling particularly confident. They decided that they were going to wear one of Hanayo's skirts to school that day.

It was a cute lemon yellow one that was frilly at the bottom and it was probably one of Ren's favorites. They walked with Hanayo side by side with their head held high. They only got as far as a block when they started having second thoughts.

It didn't help when three boys who were in their class decided to make fun of them. Suddenly all of their confidence was washed down the kitchen sink and they ran all the way back home to change into some pants. Hanayo tried to call out to them, but it was too late.

Ren didn't understand why they were like this but that was just the way they were.

* * *

Years began to pass and Ren began discovering new things about themselves. For starters, they made less and less of an effort to fit in with the boys. As much as Ren loved sports, they felt no connection to the boys. It was more often than not that they were hanging out with the girls where they could be themselves.

Ren would have been lying if they had never considered that they might have been gay. In fact they were called that, but a much worse word, on almost a daily basis by most of the boys. Ren tried not to let that bother them.

It wasn't until one day when Hanayo told them something that finally made everything begin to click and make sense.

Hanayo had told me about a new idol that had just made her debut. It was Egami Naoko, the first mainstream, transgender idol. This was the most controversial thing that happened in the idol world since… ever. Naoko spent much of her childhood as a _boy_ but then once she turned fourteen, she came out to her family and friends and started transitioning into the person she always wanted to be. The thing she said in an interview that stuck out the most to Ren was "It's never too early or too late to be yourself."

The more Ren thought about the topic of transgender, the more it seemed to apply to them. They were elated that they now knew that they weren't strange for doing things society sees as girly or for never really identifying with the boys. At the same, they were anxious because, the way they saw it, in Japan if you were transgender you couldn't have the life you want to live because you'd be forced to hide and conform. If you strayed from that, they would not be accepted.

Still, Naoko was fourteen when she came out, and Ren was thirteen, not quite fourteen yet. It was never too early.

It was just a few short days later when Ren couldn't take it anymore and they, on a nervous impulse, came out to Hanayo.

The girl was stunned at first not quite sure how to respond to the impromptu news. Ren could feel the tears stinging their eyes and threaten to fall down their cheeks when they didn't receive the reaction they had hoped for.

Hanayo gasped, seeing Ren so distressed and solicitous. She ran over to them and wrapped her arms around them. She allowed Ren to rest their head in the crook of her neck.

"I accept and support you anyway you are, I want you to know that!" Hanayo reassured. "You're still the same person. What gender you are doesn't change that."

"I-I'm sorry I'm such a mess right now, it's just that you're my best friend and your opinion matters the most to me and-"

Hanayo shushed her, rubbing their back in small circles.

They stayed like that for a while in silence, just cherishing each other's presence. Finally, Ren stepped out of Hanayo's embrace.

"So what now?" Hanayo inquired.

Ren sniffled and wiped away the rest of their tears with their sleeves. They thought for a moment. "Well, you can start by using feminine pronouns, and by calling me Rin."

* * *

Rin was very thankful of the fact that she was still pretty short and skinny and that her voice hadn't dropped yet. She was absolutely not excited for what puberty had in store for her.

Eventually she came out to her family as well and much to her surprise, most of them took it extremely well. The family members that mattered to her, that is. Now, going shopping with her mom was one of her favorite things to do and now, instead of her grandpa's old ties and slacks, her grandma sent her dresses from when she was Rin's age, and even bought her new ones that she was sure she would love.

Even though she had all that, she still loved sharing clothes with Hanayo the best.

Of course there were the people who still weren't very accepting at all, but, Rin thought, with a support system like the one she has, who could ask for anything more?

She didn't anticipate all the backlash she would get just by trying to wear a dress in public so when she was outside of her home or Hanayo's, she would just have to stick to pants or shorts.

The school year was slowly but surely coming to a close and that meant for certain one thing: applying to high schools. Hanayo didn't plan on telling Rin this but she had considered going to an all girls school called Otonokizaka High. The thing is, she wasn't certain if they'd allow Rin to enroll.

Rin eventually did find about this when she found an Otonoki pamphlet lying around at Hanayo's house and she was concerned and upset. She was concerned and upset that Hanayo would be willing to give up a school that she wanted to go to just so the two of them wouldn't be separated.

She made a proposal with Hanayo: they would both apply for Otonoki and if neither of them got in, fine, but if Hanayo did get in, she would have to go and leave Rin behind.

Rin must have blinked for a second too long because she when opened her eyes, it was already exam day. She awoke early and frantically went to look over some of her notes, for math and English particularly. She already those subjects weren't her strong suit so for the past couple weeks, she had been studying hard so that she could do her best on this test.

Rin wasn't expecting to make it into an all girl's school at all because of the situation with her gender identity but she promised that she would try for Hanayo.

In the classroom where the exam was held, Rin heard nothing but the ticking of the analog clock and the sharpening of number two pencils. She glanced behind herself at Hanayo close to the back of the room in her desk, clearly just wanting to get this over with. Rin smiled and mentally wished her good luck before turning back around to face the front.

A test booklet and answer document were placed on her desk. She first checked to see if her scientific calculator was in working order. Once that was done, she held in her breath and tore open to the first page of the, opening to a new chapter in her life.

* * *

"Rin-chan, hurry up!" Hanayo exclaimed, dragging her best friend by the sleeve.

"Slow down, Kayo-chin, nya!"

Today was a big day for the two girls, and not just because it was super idol Hanari Miyuki's birthday.

"Are you sure it's already up?" Rin asked.

"I'm positive."

It seemed a crowd had already formed so they had to force their way through. When they shoved past a red-headed girl with violet eyes, she glared at the two trouble makers.

"Do you see your name?" Rin asked eagerly.

"Wait, I see it! There's mine and… there's yours!"

Rin gulped and first looked at the numbers next to Hanayo's name.

She got a fabulous score which was no surprise at all to Rin. She knew Hanayo had the brains to get into any school she could want.

Rin didn't dare gaze upon her own score. She shut her eyes and braced herself.

"Rin, look!"

Warily, Rin opened one eye and looked at the numbers next to her name. She had to read them over several times so that she could be certain that this wasn't a fluke or disillusion. But no, the numbers said what they said and they meant what they meant.

The first thing Rin thought to do now was wrap her arms arms around Hanayo's neck in a tight embrace.

"Kayo-chin," she began, tremors in her voices, "I made it into Otonoki…"


	2. Chapter 02

Chapter Two

"How do I look?" Rin asked. She twirled around in her mid-thigh plaid skirt. Hanayo giggled delicately, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Wait," Hanayo said, still laughing. "Look at you, you didn't button your blazer correctly."

In Rin's haste to make it to Hanayo's house, she didn't realize that she had completely skipped the first button.

She walked up to Rin, undoing her buttons and redoing them, correctly this time, with nimble fingers. Rin blushed at their closeness, not wanting to say anything to break the loud silence between them. When Hanayo finished, she pulled down on the hem of Rin's blazer. She took a step back.

"Okay, do I look like an Otonki first year now?" Rin asked.

"Absolutely! You're so cute!"

"Look who's talking!"

They bantered for a while about who was the cuter girl in the duo but then they left the house when they noticed they would soon be late.

"Oh, can I see your schedule?"

"What do you have? What do you have? Are there any classes we have together?" Rin eagerly asked Hanayo, bouncing on the balls of her feet. The two girls were walking down the sidewalk to Otonokizaka High on their first day of school. Regardless of if the summer vacation flew by much faster than they would have liked, Rin still had a slight skip in her step at the thought of being able to wear a skirt everyday. Of course she was still anxious of the probability of being harassed but she kept that at the back of her mind.

Regardless, the whole thing felt like a dream to her. She couldn't believe how progressive Otonokizaka High was being in allowing her to enroll; especially with how old the school was.

Hanayo's cheeks flushed. She held her school schedule next to Rin's to compare.

"It looks like we only have English and algebra together," Hanayo replied.

Rin slumped her shoulders with a loud groan. "That's it? Not fair."

Hanayo gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's okay. We'll still have lunch together."

The pumpkin haired girl's face lit up slightly. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Rin wasn't really paying attention to where she was walking and she nearly collided with a rushing businessman carrying a portmanteau.

The man turned his head back at the two girls and tipped his hat. "'Scuse me, son," he said while speed walking ahead.

Rin pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"H-he didn't mean that," Hanayo stammered, placing a hand on Rin's shoulder.

Rin shook her head, trying to dispel her dysphoric thoughts. "It doesn't matter. C'mon, we don't want to be late."

* * *

Rin sat, staring down at the gym clothes in her lap. All around her in the locker room, there were girls casual changing into their shorts and sweats as if it were nothing. She was worried because if she changed in front of them, there was certainly something they were bound to notice. She let out a sigh.

"You can go ahead and get changed, you know," the red-headed girl in her aisle said. She slipped off her skirt so that she was only in a tank top and panties.

Rin only blushed in response.

The girl rolled her eyes. "God, if it helps any I'll turn around."

With the girl's back turned, Rin felt like she could finally breathe. She didn't see anyway she would get out of this, so she threw caution to the wind and, very quickly, she unbuttoned her shirt and slid off her skirt. She slipped on the white T-shirt and red trackpants in just a matter of seconds.

"I get that you're insecure and all, but really no one's going to care about your body," the girl tried to reassure Rin, throwing her T-shirt over her head.

Rin shrugged. _'If you could only know…'_ she thought to herself.

The redhead suddenly sat down next to Rin with her legs crossed.

"You know, I've seen you before…" she claimed, placing a finger on her chin. Rin raised a brow skeptically. The girl stared intently at Rin trying to place where she had seen that face before. She snapped her finger when it clicked. "Aha! You're one of the girls who shoved me out of the way when we got out exam scores!"

"What are you… oh, I remember! I'm sorry, my friend and I were just in a rush I guess," Rin apologized with a sheepish grin.

The girl scoffed and turned the other cheek. "Ugh, whatever. It's not like it's that big of a deal anyway."

Rin chuckled, shaking her head. "If it's anything to you, my name's Hoshizora Rin."

"The name's Nishikino Maki."

"You're kinda tall for a first year, nya," Rin remarked with a smirk.

"I don't know, it can't exactly be helped; maybe I just like to eat my vegetables. Also, you're pretty short for a first year so you shouldn't even be talking."

"C'mon girls, look alive! Get dressed and get out of the locker room or else you'll be marked tardy!" the student gym assistant called, walking through the room whilst clapping her hands. She was an average height girl with chestnut eyes and dirty blonde hair that went past her shoulders. She had her bangs pushed back with a red headband. She paused at Rin and Maki's aisle. She narrowed her eyes. "That means you, Nishikino."

The assistant's malicious eyes lingered on Rin for a moment, sizing her up. Rin shrunk under her gaze. Then she promptly continued walking around the locker room with her trustee clipboard in hand.

Maki sigh exasperatedly, "That's Yuki Sana. She's… controlling."

* * *

There was a whole ordeal of physical activity such as stretching, running laps, pushups, situps, and indoor soccer. Maki didn't expect Rin to be as good as she was; the short haired girl was probably the best in the class. Maki really lucked out when Rin was placed on her team. Sana was the other team's goalie, so when Rin scored five goals consecutively and _accidentally_ kicked the ball at her head once while she was distracted, Maki enjoyed it a little too much seeing her so angry. Even Rin couldn't help but relish in it too; perhaps she had a secret dark side, she thought.

Later when the game was won, class was almost over and that meant it was time to hit the showers. Rin, of course, was very wary of that. She was drenched in sweat though so she couldn't just opt out on one or else she'd regret it.

While she was inside of the shower, Rin left her uniform on the shelf right by so she could just grab it and change in there once she was finished. There was only a thin piece of fabric of a curtain that separated Rin from everyone else. She was paranoid that the girls would see her every move but she knew that wasn't the case.

Rin felt all of the tension leave her body as the warm water beat down on her skin, cleansing her. It was therapeutic. She was in a dreamlike sequence like in old Hollywood movies. She didn't have a care in the world; it was just her caught in the moment.

That was, until she opened her eyes again. Her eyes glided downward to her waist and she frowned at the sight of something that wasn't supposed to be there.

She rinsed the suds off of her body and concluded her shower. She slipped just her arm outside of the curtain and reached for her clothes. However, the only thing she felt was the cold, metal surface of the shelf. Rin audibly gasped and stuck her head out of the curtain, her eyes darting frantically around the room. The locker room was mostly empty save for a few other girls.

Her eyes landed on none other than Sana holding Rin's uniform in her hands as she bantered with a couple girls. The pumpkin haired girl grit her teeth together. Maki was all the way on the other side of the locker room with earbuds in her ears so she would be of no help. Rin didn't have a towel near her so there was no other way of getting her clothes back.

"Hey, give me my clothes!" Rin shouted, gaining the girls' attention.

Tauntingly, Sana stuck out her tongue. "If you want 'em, get 'em!"

Before Rin even realized what was happening, she clumsily leaped out of the shower and in a poor attempt, tried to cover her private area.

Sana glanced downward and gasped, taking a few steps back along with the two girls around her. Rin lunged forward and snatched the clothes out of her arms. "Get away from me, you freak!" Sana exclaimed.

Finally, Maki removed a single earbud, noticing the commotion. She went for the white fluffy towel that nearest to her and dashed over to Rin as quick as she could, placing it over her shoulders.

"Get this _man_ out of here!" Sana shouted.

Maki glared at her like she was a devil. "Get lost!"

With one final look from Maki to Rin, the girl swiveled on her heel and strutted out of the locker room. The other girls in there followed suit.

Maki turned back to Rin with a sympathetic expression. She carefully sat her down and allowed her to rest her head on her shoulder. Maki rubbed her back reassuringly.

"You're okay, Rin. You're okay."

Rin was surprised to find that she wasn't crying at all right after what just happened. Even now, she was completely vulnerable, in nothing but a towel. She was so thankful there were only a few girls in here when it happened and that Maki was one of them.

"So, now you know that I'm not a real girl…" Rin lamented.

Maki double took. "Not a real girl? Says who?"

Rin scowled. "You don't hate me, do you?"

"Huh? Why would I hate you? If anything, I hate the bitch who stole your clothes."

"Well, you can't tell anyone, okay?" she demanded. Rin feared that this would be old news by the end of the day.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"... So that mean girl, you seem to know her?"

Maki groaned, crossing her arms over her chest, "Unfortunately yes. Would you believe it if I said there was a time when we were, I don't know, friends? She's a psycho and a basket case so I don't even know why I a- forget it. As soon as I realized how bad she was, I cut her off completely. Now enough about her, how are you feeling, more importantly?"

Rin sighed, gazing down at her feet. "Do you ever feel like a wolf in sheep's clothing?"

* * *

"Sure, Haruka is the better singer, but whatever Kanata lacks in musical ability she makes up for it in stamina," Hanayo said as she and Rin walked outside with their lunch boxes.

"Mhmm," Rin hummed, not fully paying attention to what her best friend was saying.

"Hmm? Is something wrong, Rin?"

Rin frowned, not wanting to think more about the previous events of that day. She couldn't keep it from Hanayo though. "Uh, there was kind of an incident today during P.E. in the locker room."

Hanayo stopped abruptly in her tracks. "What!?"

"I don't know it was just a dumb prank and, well, a couple girls know that I'm _different_ , I guess," Rin explained carefully.

"I don't understand, are you okay?"

Rin shook her head vigorously. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I just wanna move on and pretend this entire thing never happened."

Hanayo still peered at Rin with her eyebrows knit together. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yeah, it's whatever."

Underneath a tree and in the shade, she saw a lonely Maki Nishikino on her phone with her earbuds in. Rin thought that maybe she could use company, even though Maki would probably never admit it.

"Hey, let's sit by my friend Maki over there, she's nice!" Rin claimed, taking Hanayo by the hand.

Hanayo gulped, "Are you sure?" With her intense stare and brows that seemed to be forever furrowed, Maki did not look like the most approachable girl.

"Positive, nya!"

Before Hanayo could protest more, she was being dragged over to the shady tree with the even shadier looking girl underneath it.

"Hey, Maki!" The girl in question perplexedly looked up at her friend from gym class and the girl beside whom she vaguely recognized. "You mind if we sit by you?"

"Wha- why me?" Maki asked, removing her earbuds.

"We're friends, right?"

"Whoa, whoa, I'm not sure if I'd go that far. We're gym partners at best."

Rin giggled, waving her hand dismissively. "That'll change. This is Hanayo, she's really cute and amazing."

Hanayo blushed fiercely. "Rin!"

"Whatever, I guess it's fine, but don't bother me too much," Maki warned, looking the other way. She seemed annoyed, but Rin had a feeling that Maki might've actually appreciated it.

* * *

"Miss Ayase! Could I have a word with you?"

The tall blonde third year in question, Eli, slowed down and looked back at the girl calling her. "Yes, Miss…?"

"That's Yuki. Sana Yuki," she replied proudly, catching up to Eli.

Eli nodded, "Yeah, that. Is there something you need?"

Sana cleared her throat. "Are you aware that they let a _boy_ into into our school?" She said the word 'boy' in a way that was soaked in venom.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Apparently, Mrs. Minami allowed some depraved teenage boy to enroll into our school in masquerade and quite frankly, I'm uncomfortable.

Eli scratched the top of her head. "Considering this is an all girl's school, I find that hard to believe. Also we know Principal Minami is a very sensible woman; she doesn't accept just any student, only the best."

"No, I'm serious! He was even in the locker room! I do not feel safe."

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there. I just don't have the time to deal with frivolous jokes when I'm up to my neck in student council business. What would a boy even be doing in our school?"

With that, Eli promptly walked into her student council office, shutting the door behind her without a final word, leaving a steamed Sana.

Releasing an exasperated sigh, Eli discarded her backpack by the table and walked over to her partner in crime, Tojo Nozomi. Eli wrapped her arms around Nozomi and sighed again. Being president was hard work.

"What's up?" Nozomi inquired.

Eli shrugged, "Ah, it's some first year trying to create drama, probably. I wouldn't worry about it, it's probably nothing."

Nozomi skeptically looked at her best friend with an arched brow, but she let it go for now. Then she remembered the news she had to share with her. She escaped Eli's embrace.

"Anyways, Principal Minami came and gave me some information," Nozomi said, fiddling with her fingers.

"Yes?" Eli sat down at her desk.

"It isn't really good news at all." Eli leaned forward in her seat in anticipation.

Nozomi took a deep breath. "You know how for the past few years there have been declining birth rates? As a result of that, we don't have many students at all applying to come here... so Otonoki may be closing once the current students graduate."


	3. Chapter 03

Chapter Three

Rin tightly clutched the edges of her desks and twisted her legs. She glanced back and forth from the clock to the teacher lecturing. The clock inexorably ticked, second by second, each minute like an hour. She bit her lip anxiously, nearly tearing the skin.

Rin couldn't excuse herself to the restroom, oh no, that would cause too many problems. Every single time she shuffled in there to relieve herself or wash her hands, she received the most malicious of gazes from some of the girls while some were even more vocal about their disapproval. Rin knew why though. It wasn't a surprise that her incident in the locker room from two weeks ago had spread to a few more students.

Still, if she clenched her thighs together and tighter, she would surely explode. She shot her hand up in the air, earning her teacher's attention.

"Yes, Miss Hoshizora?"

Rin cleared her throat. "M-may I please be excused?"

Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as her voice cracked on the word 'please'. A couple of girls giggle at the back of the classroom caught her ear.

Lately, Rin had noticed her body going through more and more changes. She found her voice beginning to thicken in her chest every time she uttered a sentence and she had more hair to shave in a lot more places than she would like. All the while, however, the hair on her head refused to grow past her ears. With all this happening, there was nothing she could do about it. She was fortunate to still have her rather petite frame.

"Yes, please return within five minutes," the teacher advised.

Rin merely nodded, out of fear that her voice would crack again.

She planned on making the fastest bathroom trip known to mankind; run in and run out. Immediately when she stepped inside, she was greeted by stares but she pushed past them and into a stall.

When she was finished she let out a relieved sigh and went back out to wash her hands.

"Hey, listen," someone asserted from behind. Rin cautiously turned around. She couldn't place who the girl even was. "Let's set the record straight. You may have fooled Principal Minami into letting you go here, but you will _never_ be one of us," she spoke with pure venom.

"If I were you, I wouldn't even show your face in here again," the girl with her said.

Rin was truly speechless and paralyzed. With a final glare the two girls left the bathroom. Just as they left, another girl with childish pigtails tied up with red ribbons walked past them with an arched brow.

"What's wrong with those two?" she asked to no one in particular.

Rin sighed, "It was nothing."

"Huh? Are you okay? Are they causing you trouble?" she inquired, crossing her arms.

Rin just shrugged. Without uttering another word, she trudged out of the bathroom, leaving behind the confused girl.

* * *

"... they had the _audacity_ to say that to you!?" Maki demanded.

Rin, Hanayo, and Maki were at their same spot underneath the shady tree for their lunch period. Hanayo quickly noticed once again that Rin was in sour mood and it didn't take much prodding for her to confide in both Hanayo and Maki.

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" Hanayo leaned closer to Rin, making certain the girl didn't have any marks or scratches on her body.

"No, they wouldn't dare. They're all talk and no action," Maki spat out. "I don't expect anything less from Sana."

"I'm totally fine. And trust me, by now I'm used to this," Rin said in an attempt to make light of the situation.

Maki slapped her forehead and groaned aloud, "But nobody should have to get used to this. I don't know what's wrong with some of the people in this school. The girls who aren't harassing you actually have lives and they have bigger things to worry about. It's the girls who are dissatisfied with their own lives so they have to meddle in other people's for whatever reason, probably attention. It's pathetic, really."

Rin huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face. "Whatever. I'm not too worried, hopefully it blows over soon enough, nya."

Maki scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. "You can't just remain passive!"

"Why don't you tell Principal Minami?" Hanayo suggested earnestly.

"No way! I don't want her to be involved!" Rin argued, waving her hands in front of herself.

"What? If you're being literally harassed then you have to tell the principal, that's why we have a principal!" Maki retorted.

Rin sighed, "I would just prefer it if not everyone knew that I'm trans. It's nobody else's business. For once, I'd just like to be a normal girl."

"Rin…" Hanayo said sadly.

* * *

"What's this about?" the president asked emotionlessly.

"An application to form an idol club!" the ginger-haired leader of the trio claimed boldly.

"Yes, I _know_ that. I can read," Eli said flatly.

The blue-haired girl on the right and the ash-haired girl on the left gulped.

"So, does that mean you'll approve it?" the leader asked hopefully.

"No," Eli said abruptly. The three girls before her gasped. "To form a club, you need at least five members. Even if it's for an appreciation society."

"But I've seen a lot of clubs here with less than five," the blue-haired girl argued.

"Yes, but they've all initially had at least five at the formation of the group."

Nozomi finally spoke up, "All you need is two more members." It was apparent that while Eli was the typical 'bad cop', Nozomi took the role of 'good cop.'

"Two more…" the leader repeated. She seemed to muse it over for a moment. "I understand. Let's go, girls."

Eli stood up. "Wait a second. Why do you want to form an idol club now?"

"We want to help save our school from closing down! School idols have become really popular now, so-"

"That tells me I can't approve your application even if you do get five members," Eli responded coldly.

All three of them looked at her incredulously. Nozomi remained silent.

"What does that mean?"

"Clubs aren't meant to recruit new students. A rushed idea like this won't do us any good in our situation. Don't waste your time. Just focus on actually making something of yourselves during your last two years here."

The three girls left the office, thoroughly disappointed, but the leader remained determined.

"I think that I could say the same things to you," Nozomi finally said to Eli.

"What? You talk too much, Nozomi."

Nozomi chuckled slightly, "I am the vice president, after all. It is my job."

After a moment of silence, Nozomi spoke, "Elichi, I have to leave early today because I have to run down to the shrine. Are you okay with taking care of everything?" Nozomi asked.

Eli nodded, "Yeah, I think I can manage. See you, Nozomi."

Nozomi smiled blithely. "Don't work yourself too hard though," she said before making her leave.

Eli set a budget request form from one of the clubs and began to read it over. She didn't have much time to concentrate as she was startled by a knock on the door. Did Nozomi forget something?

"Come in," Eli called.

The door opened and the red-haired girl, Maki, emerged from it. She immediately went over to the seat that Nozomi was previously in. Eli was slightly annoyed that she didn't ask for permission first.

"What is it?" Eli asked.

Maki cleared her throat and began to explain, "It makes me sick seeing some of the girls acting the way they do."

Eli folded her hands on her desk. "What specifically are you talking about?"

Maki scowled. How could she phrase this while still respecting Rin's privacy? "It's mostly harassing and I really can't tell you why, or who they do it to because it isn't my secret to tell. What I can tell you is that it involves Yuki Sana."

Eli recognized the name. "Is it possible that they could talk it out?" Eli supposed.

"Are you kidding? That wouldn't do anything except make the situation worse."

Eli took a deep breath, "Look, I think that it's best if the student council resorts to a _laissez faire_ approach. I'm certain that whatever the conflict is, it will resolve itself in due time. I would love to take care of it myself but I already have enough on my plate as is so I can't waste time worrying about something petty."

"Petty? And whatever those things are is more more important than making sure every student here feels safe?"

"Miss, uh…" Eli snapped her fingers trying to jog her memory.

Maki rolled her eyes. "That's Nishikino," she replied bitterly.

"Miss Nishikino, are you aware that once your class graduates, Otonokizaka could be closed down for good?" Eli began. Maki's expression remained apathetic. "I find myself stressing about it everyday because suddenly all of the pressure of keeping our school open is on my shoulders. I would love for my biggest concern to be bullying but unfortunately I don't have that luxury."

Maki adamantly crossed her arms over her chest. "I might've overheard a rumor or two. Yes, I get it, that's very sad, but I don't see how that's relevant when there is a student literally afraid to use the bathroom." She forced herself to stop or else she might've revealed something she shouldn't have.

"Wait, who is it?" Eli asked, her eyes widening.

"I really can't say."

"Then in what way am I supposed to help? You're wasting my time, Miss Nishikino."

Maki abruptly stood up and pushed in her chair. She couldn't stand being in there for any longer. "You know what? Forget it, I'll just take care of it myself. Since you clearly don't care about the well-being of our student body. _President._ What a fucking waste of a title."

* * *

"That was stressful," Maki muttered to herself as she sauntered down the hallway. She didn't know why she expected that meeting to have gone any better. She had already heard things about how uptight and stubborn the president could get. People said that Eli was the one girl more emotionless than she was, and Maki didn't doubt it a bit.

She came to a halt at a room that was very familiar to her; ever since she found out it existed, she spent many an afternoon here unwinding. She hit the light switch and smiled at the sight of the beauty before her.

Maki walked to the center of the room where the grand piano she had grown to cherish like a confidante stood. She sat down at the bench and took out the sheet music she carried with her in her bag.

It was apparent that Maki was not the most expressive person, but when it came to music, someone could almost physically grasp the passion coming from the keys.

She opened her music book to a song that she had been writing for quite a while now. She cracked her fingers and placed them on the ivory keys. She took a deep breath and her fingers press down on the keys. After a brief introduction, Maki added her voice.

" _Aishiteru banzai!  
Koko de yokatta watashitachi no ima ga koko ni aru  
Aishiteru banzai!  
Hajimatta bakari ashita mo yoroshiku ne mada Gooru janai  
Waratte yo kanashii nara fuki to basou yo  
Waraetara kawaru keshiki harema ga nozoku  
Fuan demo shiawase e to tsunagaru michi ga  
Miete kita yo na aozora…"_

Maki concluded the song and rested her hands on her lap with a sigh. She was jolted back to reality when she heard the sound of applause coming from the door.

"Who the fu-"

"Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Your performance was so moving!" the strange ginger-haired girl from behind the door ran up to Maki.

Her cheeks flushed as she stammered a response, "It was even that good, it was just practice…"

"You're an amazing singer and you play the piano so well!" the girl exclaimed with stars in her eyes. She gasped. "Would you want to be a school idol?"

Maki double took. "A what?" She promptly stood and was about to leave the room but the girl stopped her.

"I know it's a bit sudden, but I know that you'd be a great idol."

With a 'hmmph,'Maki turned the other cheek. "What's your problem? I don't even know you."

"Would you at least be willing to compose a song for us?"

"No way. For starters, pop music isn't even my thing. I only do classical."

Maki picked up her belongings and dashed out of the classroom before the girl could say anything else.

"I guess I kind of saw that coming," the ginger-haired girl said to the air.


	4. Chapter 04

Chapter Four

Hanayo sighed wistfully. She felt like she had received a message from the gods themselves. Before her was a poster for a supposed idol concert by three second years. Hanayo recalled the leader of the trio, Kousaka Honoka, along with the other two, confronted her of all people to join the idol. What a ludicrous thought. Anyone who knew her was very aware that she was an introvert; therefore not the type of girl who would be an idol. So of course Hanayo denied Honoka's request. How could she have said yes? But then again, what if she had said yes?

A couple of weeks ago, Hanayo dragged Rin one morning to UTX for a chance at seeing the members of school idol group A-RISE. The group consisted of Kira Tsubasa as the leader, Yuuki Anju and Toudou Erena. They were ranked the number one school idol group in Japan, having won the first Love Live competition.

Hanayo more than loved A-RISE, she wanted to _be_ them. They made being an idol look easy. They danced with grace and finesse and sang in tune with each other every single time. There wasn't another idol this in sync with one another.

Hanayo could hardly fathom doing what they do, half as well. She still remembered Rin said to her in passing years ago in elementary school; _'if you ever decide to become a super idol, I'll be your number one fan.'_ She smiled blithely at the memory.

"C'mon, Kayo-chin," Rin called, startling Hanayo, "let's head home."

"Uh, but I, um- alright," the introverted girl stammered.

Rin looked at Hanayo quizzically. "Is something the matter?"

Hanayo shook her head and then smiled. She shouldn't think of those ludicrous thoughts. Becoming a school idol was just a fantasy. Her relationship with Rin was real and tangible and much more important. Still, she kept her dreams at the back of her mind.

"I'm fine. Should we get ice cream?" Hanayo suggested.

"Sounds good, nya," Rin replied.

"Say, have you decided on what clubs you'd want to join yet? So far, either the track team or the softball team looks promising. How about you, Kayo-chin?" Rin asked.

"Well... I guess nothing's really caught my eye yet."

"Join a sports team with me then! We have to be together, nya."

"Um, I'm not the best athlete but I'll consider that."

"Whatever you decide, I'll do it with you," Rin promised earnestly.

* * *

Maki sighed, "God, I'll probably live to regret this decision."

The first year attached the MP3 file to the email and sent it. Once the deed was done, she shut her laptop.

"Hopefully that satisfies them."

Maki didn't know what possessed her to actually take the time to anonymously compose a song for Honoka's idol group. Not that it was a difficult task for her. It was pop music; all that required was putting the lyrics to a simplistic and idiotic chord progression. She couldn't stand the thought of doing that though so she went above and beyond that.

If anyone asked why she did it, she would either deny it or say she did it just to get them off her back.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed beside her, catching her attention. She arched a brow when she saw that it was Rin calling.

"Hello?" Maki answered.

"Hey, what's up?" Rin asked.

"What do you want?" Maki asked tersely.

"Am I not allowed to just say hi?"

Maki rolled her eyes but still smiled to herself. "Well, hi. I'm sure you already know I'm no good at small talk."

"Yeah, I realized," Rin replied with a chuckle. "Anyways, I already told Hanayo, but I have great news."

"News about you or news about me?"

"About me. I talked it over with my mom and… she agreed that I'm old enough to start taking estrogen soon!"

"Whoa, that's awesome. Excited?"

"Yeah, mostly nervous though. I'll be going through a lot of changes."

"Eh, don't sweat about it, it'll be worth it in the end."

"Thanks. Have you thought about joining any clubs?"

"Who me? No way." Maki idly twirled her hair with a finger, more out of habit than anything.

"What? Why not? You like to sing, why not join the school choir?"

"No, that sounds lame. It's preppy girls like Sana who join a club like that."

"How about the track team? Hanayo and I were thinking about doing that."

"Even worse. I hate sports. I don't know, I'm just not really the type of girl that does clubs."

"How come?"

Maki sighed, "It's not important. Anyway, how have things been for you at school? Anyone causing you trouble?"

Rin shrugged."Same as usual, I guess. Some of the girls still pick on me. Today Sana tripped me in the hallway again."

Maki clenched her fist. "So help me, I'll make her life miserable. She's lucky I even let her breathe the same air I do."

"It's not a big deal she's just a pest!" Her voice cracked on the word 'pest' and she groaned aloud, slapping her hand on her forehead.

"What's wrong?" Maki asked, worried.

"My voice is changing so it keeps cracking every now and again. It's embarrassing."

"Trust me, it's not as bad as you think it is and it happens to the better of us, but... if it makes you feel any better, I could give you some voice training?"

"Voice training?"

"Yeah, I actually, um, did some research on MtF transitioning and it says that even if you do start taking estrogen, it doesn't help with your voice like testosterone does. So I figured I could give you voice lessons to help keep your voice sounding feminine."

"Whoa, that's so nice of you! Why are you doing this?"

"What? I was curious, okay? Nobody at Otonoki gives a shit about anyone, honestly. You seem like a somewhat decent person and worth giving a shit about to me," Maki replied casually.

Rin blushed at the sentiment. Maki could actually be quite caring when she wanted to. "I really appreciate it. I don't even know where I'd be right now if I hadn't met you."

"You can pay me back by kicking Sana's ass for me," Maki half-joked.

Rin giggled, "Not if she kicks mine first."

"Let me tell you, the first thing to know about Sana is that her bark is much worse than her bite."

* * *

"Hmmph. Another day, another dollar," Maki murmured to herself sarcastically. School was exhausting as per usual.

She put her satchel on over her shoulder and was on her way home. However, she didn't make it more than three steps when she was stopped by a hand on her shoulders. Filled with curiosity and a hint of annoyance, she turned out. She frowned when she saw that was that ginger girl who tried recruiting her, along with her two lackeys.

"Yeah…?"

The ginger girl, Honoka, smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "So I got an email last night…"

Maki arched a brow skeptically. "Okay? What's that have to do with me?"

"Don't play dumb, silly. We all know it was you who sent us that email."

Maki huffed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Who else could've written our new soon-to-be hit song?" Honoka asked.

There was no point in hiding it now. "Well, so what if it was me then?"

"Please join u's! You won't regret it!"

"Absolutely not," Maki answered.

"This morning and after lunch I saw you looking at our poster so you must be at least somewhat interested," Kotori said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Maki gasped and her cheeks reddened. She was certain that she was alone when that happened. She waved her hands frantically in front of her. "I was just glancing!"

Honoka giggled, "That sure was a long glance."

"Honoka, please go easy on her," the one called Umi chastised.

Maki knew she would end up regretting helping them. She willingly gave them an inch but they kept demanding a mile.

She cleared her throat to compose herself. "I already told you no. I barely tolerate pop music and my future's already been decided for me. Why waste time being an idol sellout when I should be focusing on my studies?"

"This would so not be a waste of time! We're doing this because we want to save the school from closing and we think you'd be a huge asset to us. Reconsider?"

Maki scoffed and turned around. "I refuse. Do it on your own. Whether you fail or succeed it'll still mean nothing to me." She left as quickly as she could.

Honoka whined with a pouty lip, "So mean!"

Kotori shrugged her shoulders, "I'm sure she was just having a bad day." Honoka and Umi were amazed at how their friend managed to always keep a positive attitude.

* * *

"Amazing! Now that's what I call a mansion!" Rin exclaimed, her mouth agape.

Warily, she walked up the large steps to the front door. She was about to knock when she noticed an intercom next to the door. She timidly pushed the button and waited.

"Yes?" she heard the voice of an older woman.

Rin cleared her throat. "Um, hi, I'm a classmate of Nishikino Maki's. She's probably expecting me."

"Just a moment."

Seconds later the door and opened and Rin stood erect. She was greeted by a short woman in a maid's outfit.

Rin bowed respectfully. "Good afternoon, miss."

"Miss Nishikino's just up in her room. I'll escort you, it's quite easy to get lost in this house."

The first year was led up the stairwell and down the hallway until they came to Maki's door. They found her sitting at her grand piano, writing on sheet music. Rin couldn't say that she was shocked. The maid left the two girls to carry on her business.

"Maki, you never mentioned that you were loaded!" Rin proclaimed.

Maki blinked. "Oh. Surprise? I don't like telling people upfront because then they'll probably only be around me because of my money. You understand, right?" the redhead explained.

"I guess that makes sense," Rin said with a shrug.

"Now, are you here for the voice lessons already?"

"Yeah. You busy?"

"Not anymore. Let's sit on my bed," she replied, setting her sheet music aside.

Rin plopped her body down on the comfortable king-sized mattress and Maki joined her but in a more graceful manner. Rin laid on her stomach with her head resting on her forearms. She had never felt a bed this cozy in her life; she almost sunk down through the mattress.

"Alright. Hit me with the first step. I'm ready."

"Okay, first I need you to think of a voice that you really admire. It can be anyone's, someone who you're close with or a celebrity," Maki explained.

Rin thought, idly kicking her feet. The sweetest voice she knew came from none other than Hanayo. There could be nothing more angelic on this planet. Hanayo was always shy about speaking out or especially singing. Rin could recall one time where she accidentally walked in on Hanayo singing her heart out while she thought she was alone. If she could, she would've listened forever.

Maki's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Do you have one?"

With a winsome smile, Rin nodded.

"Good. Now I want you to think of the different qualities of the voice; what makes it unique. The first step to getting better at anything."

Rin nodded again.

"Okay. Typically with guys they speak from the chest and when they go through puberty the testosterone in their bodies helps their vocal cords thicken. For girls, we tend to speak in a head voice. Do you sing at all?"

Rin blushed and shook her head. "N-not seriously."

Maki rolled her eyes. "Relax, I'm not telling you to sing for me. Anyways, we should work on the pitch, articulation, fluency, and tone for your voice. It's not gonna be easy, especially since you've already started going through puberty."

"Whatever it takes, I'm in," Rin said confidently.

* * *

Rin yawned, nodding off every five minutes as the student council president droned on about school rules and other boring things. It was easy to fall asleep, it wasn't her fault that the auditorium had really comfortable seats.

"... and that concludes the new student orientation. You are now free to check out the student clubs, so please look into those if you are interested," Eli concluded her speech at the podium.

Rin rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she and the entire student body stood up from the seat and dispersed into the hallway and outside.

"Hey, you seem like the type of girl who's probably into sports," The brunette girl holding a stack of flyers supposed.

Rin smiled, "You're not wrong."

The girl handed her a flyer. "Come join the basketball team! Tryouts start at four!"

"Thanks," Rin said.

Rin looked around the schoolyard until she found Hanayo looking at her phone with her back turned. Rin smirked and tip toed over to her without making a sound. From behind, she placed her hands on her shoulders and hissed, giving the shy girl a near heart attack.

"Don't scare me like that!" Hanayo exclaimed.

Rin giggled. "Today's the big day, Kayo-chin! Have you decided on a club to join yet?" she asked eagerly.

Hanayo boldly gave Honoka and her friends her word that she would be there to support them at four o'clock on the dot. She wasn't going to let anything stand in her way. Of course that was easier said than done, however.

Hanayo fiddled with her fingers and timidly stammered a reply, "Um, well-"

"Wait, are you thinking about joining that idol group, what are they called, Moose or something?" Rin asked, placing a finger on her chin.

"Uh, actually I-"

"How about we check out the track team? Or the basketball team? The possibilities are endless! C'mon, you said you wanted to try out some sports!" She grabbed Hanayo by the hand and dragged her in the direction of the basketball courtyard.

"W-wait, Rin! Someone help me!" Hanayo cried but to no avail. Once Rin had her mind set on something it was nearly impossible to pull her away from it.

"We don't wanna be late, nya!"

That was exactly what Hanayo was afraid of.

This was quite the dilemma; on one hand, if she misses the concert she'll disappoint Honoka and her friends, but if she does go then she'll disappoint Rin. There was no way to win in this game.

* * *

"Hmmph, still empty. Just as I expected," Eli said glancing at a clock on the wall. She made sure her camera was on, positioned correctly, focused, and ready to record.

"They'll see for themselves how foolish they've been."

"Um, excuse me, I don't think you're supposed to be up here…" Eli heard a timid voice behind her.

"And who the hell are you?" Eli challenged, glancing over her shoulder at the girl.

The girl had short tangerine colored hair that went just above her shoulders. She cleared her throat. "Well, I'm supposed to be operating the soundboard for the concert."

"Then just pretend I'm not here."

* * *

With a sudden burst of confidence, Hanayo impulsively tore her hand out of Rin's grasp. Rin looked at her perplexedly.

"I'm really sorry Rin, but I have somewhere to be and I promised I wouldn't miss it."

"Huh? But what about tryouts?" Rin asked.

"I'm sorry. I just have to support u's in their first concert and I can't be late." Hanayo spun on her heel and made a beeline for the auditorium.

Rin, still confused, ran after her best friend.

* * *

Maki meandered through the hallway aimlessly after she left the assembly. She tried walking past the bulletin board without even sparing a passing glance but she couldn't resist. She backtracked and looked at the colorful idol group poster for the umpteenth time that week.

"Why is it that I always find myself drawn back to u's?" Maki murmured to herself.

It was the day of their performance and Maki was considering watching it. Not out of her own enjoyment though, merely because she was curious to see how u's would butcher her composition.

Maki jumped slightly when she felt someone brush against her arm. It was a girl, a whole head shorter than her, with two twin tails. She glared intensely at the idol group poster, scrutinizing it to the finest detail.

"Can you believe this?" the short girl asked.

Maki blinked. "What?" She looked around and saw nobody else. "Are you talking to me?"

"Do you approve of this? It's an abomination. One of them even had the audacity to try and offer me a flyer. Ugh, I have to go see this for myself."

And just like that, the girl was strutting away, her hair bobbing behind her.

"What in the world?" Maki said. If the girl had some kind of personal vendetta with u's then why would she bother seeing their concert?

Maki looked back at the poster one last time with a heavy and dragged her feet in the direction the other girl went.

* * *

" _I say…! Hey! Hey! Hey! Start! Dash!"_

Hanayo watched the stage in awe as the girls of u's sang and danced their hearts out despite the fact that the auditorium was filled with empty seats. Having the curtains unveil an empty house was a shock at first, but it didn't matter to them at all; they put in all the hard labor for an idol concert and now they were going to show off the fruits of their labor regardless of whatever people cared to watch them.

Hanayo's heart pounded and she could feel the vibration in her ears like tom drums. She knew at that moment that performing on stage with them was where she belonged.

Behind her, Rin ran through the door, straight for Hanayo.

"Kayo-chin, I-" Rin's attention was drawn to the stage as well, captivated by the music and flawless choreography. She gasped at the amount style and panache they put in their performance.

Eli groaned frustratedly with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyebrows permanently furrowed. She stared intensely at the girls on like they could have a slip up at any moment. The girl at the soundboard timidly glanced up at Eli and swallowed.

Eli had expected u's to just give up right away when they saw that no one wanted to watch their concert, but they kept going. Foolish, yes, but Eli couldn't help but admire their resilience.

Not far, just outside of the auditorium, Nozomi stood, leaning on the wall with a small satisfied smile on her face. It was just like her tarot cards said about 'nine muses gathering together,' almost like a prophesy.

Hiding just around the corner, was Maki who fought to stop her foot from tapping to the beat of the kick drum fought to stay out of Nozomi's line of sight. It pained her to admit that Muse's performance actually sounded more than halfway decent unlike she had initially expected even if she couldn't see it. Maybe they actually had been serious about being idols.

When the song concluded, Maki joined the others in the auditorium, avoiding Nozomi's gaze, to give u's an applause. Just to be courteous.

"Wonderful!" Hanayo quietly cheered, vigorously clapping alongside Rin. They heard footsteps behind them and gasped when it was none other than the intimidating presence of the student council president.

The girls on stage stopped praising each other and stared down the president.

"So what now?" Eli asked condescendingly.

"We'll keep performing!" Honoka replied daringly.

"Why? It's not like you'd make a difference," Eli retorted.

Hanayo looked away dejectedly while Rin glared.

Honoka stomped her foot. "We'll keep performing because we want to! I love singing and dancing. Umi and Kotori probably feel the same too. I don't regret a thing! I want to pursue this more than anything. It doesn't matter if we never catch people's attention, it doesn't matter if we never have an audience cheering for us, but we'll never give up!" She stared down Eli and didn't back down for a second.

Eli gave one final glare then turned on her heel and marched out of the auditorium without a word.

"What a bitch…" Maki muttered to herself.

Honoka put a smile back on her face as soon as Eli was gone. She took Umi and Kotori's hands in hers and she ran with them off the stage to meet her audience.

"Thank you all so much for coming to watch us, the three of us are so grateful!" Honoka claimed.

"It was great!" Hanayo exclaimed.

"You rocked!" Rin added.

Maki shrugged. "It was a solid performance."

"That was certainly a rush," Umi remarked.

"Absolutely, I'm still buzzing!" Honoka said.

"Um, excuse me?" Hanayo interjected shyly.

"What is it, Kayo-chin?"

She couldn't back down now. She clenched her fists. "I… I want to be an idol."

Rin's eyes widened. Honoka gasped and took Hanayo's hands in hers, jumping excitedly. "Of course you can! We'd love to have you in our group!"

Hanayo beamed at Honoka, and then Umi and Kotori. She glanced expectantly at Rin who was caught off guard.

"What are you looking at me for?" she asked frantically.

Hanayo threw caution to the wind and spoke her mind. "I remember, you told me that whatever club I decided to join you would do it with me, right?"

"I… I did say that… but c'mon, you already know I'm not the idol type, I mean look at my hair!" She gestured to how her hair barely came past her ears.

Maki sighed exasperatedly. "Oh, you're joining u's alright, because I'm joining with you."

"I knew I'd get you to join some day!" Honoka claimed.

"Hey, this has nothing to do with you!" Maki said.

"But I…" Rin began. She really did promise Hanayo that she would join any club with her. She has never lied to Hanayo before and she didn't want to start now.

"Fine. I'll join," Rin finally gave in reluctantly.

"You will?" Honoka asked.

Rin nodded slowly, still not entirely sure of this decision. "Yeah. I mean, my friends are in it so how bad can it be?" she said, mostly trying to convince herself.


	5. Chapter 05

It has been a week since Muse's first performance; Rin, Hanayo, and Maki were made official members of the group. None of them had anticipated on how welcoming Honoka would be of them. She treated them like they were family. Kotori and Umi were no different, but Honoka completely went out of her way.

The three first years were eating lunch in their normal spot when they were approached by an even more chipper than usual Honoka. One would think that she didn't have a single care in the world.

"Uh, hi Honoka," Rin said warily. Honoka had suggested right away that they would all forget about the honorifics and just address each other as equals. Rin still wasn't quite sure about it.

She sat down in the small empty between Rin and Maki, earning a scowl from the latter.

"Hey guys, I come bearing gifts!" Honoka exclaimed, opening her bento lunch box. Inside of it were three pink daifuku rice cakes. Hanayo's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at the sight of the sweet, confectionery surprise. "They're from Homura; my mom made them herself!"

"Wh- we can have these?" Maki questioned.

Honoka nodded with alacrity. "Yeah, of course!"

"That's so nice of you, but I can't accept this," Rin said with a small smile.

"I insist. I thought I should give you all something to commemorate you on joining u's… also I never eat the stuff myself. I'm not a fan of red bean paste," Honoka replied, laughing awkwardly.

Maki rubbed her chin. "I didn't know clubs had to commemorate new members."

The ginger-haired second year gave Maki her most winsome smile. "No, we don't."

"We accept!" Hanayo exclaimed. Maki and Rin gave her a look for the sudden outburst.

"It's settled. Enjoy the daifuku. Catch you guys on the roof later for practice?"

The first years nodded synchronically. With a final wave, Honoka stood up and was on her way, empty bento lunch box in tow.

"She has to be the nicest person girl in Otonoki," Hanayo remarked.

"It's almost sickening," Maki added, looking off in the direction Honoka went.

* * *

It has also been a week since Rin's first estrogen hormone injection. Both her mom, and Hanayo, were there with her in the doctor's office to offer her their support. Rin didn't know if she would have gone through with it if they hadn't been there with her.

Rin couldn't help looking at the place on her arm where she received the shot. Not much has changed yet but she felt an overwhelming amount of anxiety about the changes she would soon go through. She was well aware of the potential side effects too. Nausea, vomiting, acne, migraines, as well depression. It would all be worth it in the end though, she supposed.

* * *

"I'm still not sure about this whole idol thing. I feel like I made the wrong choice. I think I should quit; Honoka did say she only needed five members," Rin said, tying her tennis shoes.

"What? You can't quit! Why on earth did I join then?" Maki asked, throwing on her gym T-shirt.

"Because, secretly, you do like idols?"

Maki rolled her eyes. "Hmmph, that's a joke. I only joined for you," she corrected, playfully shoving Rin in the shoulder.

Rin stuck out her tongue. "That's not my fault." She sighed. "I'm not sure this whole idol thing is for me. I'm not very girly at all and my hair's way too short."

"Why don't you tell Hanayo then if that's the way you feel? She's really supportive of you," Maki suggested.

"That's true, but know how passionate she is about idols. It'd break her heart."

Maki sat down next to Rin and placed her hands on her cheeks so that they were eye to eye. "Yeah, but she's even more passionate about you. And if my opinion matters to you at all, I'd like you to stay." She put her hands back down in her lap.

"I still don't know. I mean, I can't even sing or dance."

"It's never too late to learn," Maki answered with a shrug.

"Even if I could, I can't do it in front of people. I'll freeze up, nya!"

"We'll work on it. Look, you promised Hanayo and I refuse to let you back out now just because you're having second thoughts."

"I guess you're right… I'm just worried that I'll be made fun of because I'm… different. If Honoka and her friends find out, they'll never look at me the same."

"Oh, I see. Something tells me that Honoka wouldn't be the type of girl to mind."

"You think so?"

"I have a hunch. C'mon, let's get to class before they give us a detention."

* * *

"Nozomi, can I have your honest opinion on something?" Eli asked her companion.

Nozomi looked up from her paperwork. "Yeah, anything."

Eli bit down on her bottom lip before taking a deep breath. "Do you think that I'm a good person?"

Nozomi raised a brow skeptically, then giggled. "Well Elichi, I think that you are a lot of things and a good person is certainly on that list. What prompted this?"

Eli shrugged. "I don't know. I just don't feel like one lately. With the school's impending closure, I hardly feel like a human being at all."

Nozomi stood up and went to stand with her arm around Eli's shoulders. The blonde girl leaning her head back to rest on Nozomi's chest, a perfect pillow. "Eli, what is it that _you_ want?"

Eli blinked. "I want the school to remain open. So much so that I've been losing sleep over it. But you already knew that. I'm speaking in plain Japanese, am I? Or did I slip into Russian again?"

Nozomi shook her head with a smile. "I really wish you'd take it easy once in awhile. All this stress can't be good for your complexion."

"How could I? Nothing I try seems to ever work and I'm running out of options."

"What about u's?"

Eli suddenly sat up and turned in her seat to look Nozomi in the eyes."We're still talking about them? Their concert was a flop; only a handful of people bothered to show up. I'll be damned if the fate of the school rests in their hands."

"How did you ever come to be so stubborn?" Nozomi asked with a pout.

"Years of practice, I guess," Eli replied simply.

* * *

"Okay girls, hear me out. What if we started a petition to get this _tranny_ out of our school, or at the very least stop him from using the restrooms?" Sana suggested.

The short haired girl scratched her head. "I don't know, Sana. Don't you think you're blowing this a little bit out of proportion?"

"Who me? Absolutely not! Are you telling me that you really feel safe when you know that there's some confused _guy_ roaming around in our school?"

"I guess not."

"Honestly, this is what he gets for messing with God's design," the brunette with her hair tied claimed bitterly.

Sana grinned, "See, she gets it. Once we get all the signatures we need, then we can take it to the student council for them to approve, and then we can take it to Mrs. Minami so she can take swift action."

"I'm down, in fact I'll be the first to sign," the brunette said proudly. "What about you?" she asked, gesturing to the short haired girl.

She shrugged, "Whatever it takes, right?"

"I knew I could count on you two. In not too long we'll be able to wash our hands of this whole predicament."

* * *

"Is something on your mind, Rin?" Hanayo asked as she and Rin walked up the stairs to the school's roof.

"I've been thinking lately. Maybe I should come out to Honoka and her friends. It doesn't seem right keeping it from them," Rin answered.

"Are you sure? No one's forcing you to do anything you're uncomfortable with."

"I know, I know. I just think that it would be a huge relief if I let them know now than to have them find out from another source."

"Okay. If that's really what you want, I'll be there to hold your hand."

Rin's cheeks flushed. "I'm so glad I've had you by my side for all these years."

"What? I'm just some shy girl who talks way too much about idols. You could do so much better than me."

Rin shook her head. "You know that's a lie. You're the best friend I've ever had."

Rin pushed opened the door and saw the second years doing warmup stretches.

"Hey you two, where's Maki?" Umi asked as she bent forward to touch her toes.

"Probably just fashionably late, as per usual," Rin replied with a slight chuckle.

Umi scowled, glancing at the clock on her phone. "That's not a good habit to have. She could be a little more responsible."

"Lighten up, Umi. You don't have to be serious 100% of the time," Honoka said.

The bluenette rolled her eyes. "Someone has to, and I doubt it'd be you."

Honoka shrugged, "Kinda true."

"Can I talk to you guys about something?" Rin interjected.

"Sure, what's up?" Honoka asked.

Rin took a deep breath. "I wanted to let you guys know something before we get more serious with this idol group."

Hanayo took Rin's right hand in both of hers as a means of encouragement.

"Speak your mind!"

"Alright… I don't know if you could already tell or not, but I'm transgender. A transgirl specifically. I'm also attracted to girls, though. I really don't want this to affect anything or make you all uncomfortable."

Honoka smiled. She remembered hearing something a couple weeks ago during passing time about there being a transgender student enrolled here. She couldn't believe her ears. Honoka was ecstatic that there was another LGBT member at Otonoki to make the student body even more diverse.

"Rin, that's not going to change a thing. First of all, I can speak for all three of us when I say that we're really proud of you for having the courage to come out to us, and second, thanks for trusting us with that info. It's good that we know that sort of thing."

"Really?"

"Mhmm! Don't sweat it. Oh! This reminds me of when Kotori came out to us as bi in seventh grade. We were so shocked. And then Umi came out as gay not too long after and she was such a mess, I'll never forget it!"

"Aw, Umi was so cute!" Kotori cooed.

"Guys, I don't wanna talk about that!" Umi whined, blushing fiercely.

Honoka giggled. "And if you're wondering about me, I've always been pretty open about my sexuality so I never felt a need to come out. So if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm very, very, gay."

"What a surprise," Umi remarked sarcastically.

Kotori looked in the introverted girl's direction as she patted Honoka on the head. "What about you, Hanayo? If you don't mind my asking," Kotori said.

Hanayo sputtered nervously from being put in the spotlight. "... I, um…"

"It's okay, Kayo-chin. You can tell them," Rin reassured her with a slight nudge to her side.

"Well, I'm also… gay, I guess," Hanayo answered, her voice trailing off at the end.

Rin would never forget the day when in junior high, Hanayo accidentally revealed that there was some _wavering_ in her sexuality. Acting as the good friend she was, Rin helped Hanayo out by setting her up with potential male suitors, all of which she turned down. When confronted about it, Hanayo blurted out that she would never look at a boy the same way she looked at idols. Her hands quickly shot to cover her mouth as soon as the words left her lips.

"Alright! Join the club!" Honoka cheered.

With a creak, the door opened and Maki walked outside. Where she stood, she did stretches and twisted her body at her waist. "Hey, sorry I'm late, I didn't wanna be here. Did I miss anything?" Maki asked.

"I've told you several times that rehearsal starts at 4 o'clock," Umi chastised. Maki raised her shoulders dismissively.

"Everyone in this club likes girls," Honoka replied simply. Umi slapped her hand to her forehead.

"I guess I fit right in then," Maki smiled. She placed a finger on her chin in thought. "Still, don't you think it's kind of a weird coincidence how we're all gay at the same time? It seems a bit forced."

Umi waved her hands. "Alright, alright, that's enough. Can we please keep our private lives private now? We need to work on getting this choreography correct."

* * *

"... yeah, I know, I can't get those dance steps out of my head. I swear, u's will be the death of me," Rin said to Hanayo over the phone. With her free hand she pushed her bangs up and released a puff of air. After a tiring day of school and an even more tiring idol practice, Rin plopped herself down on her bed so she could finally relax. She thought there was nothing more relaxing than the sound of her best friend's voice.

There was a knock at her door. _'So much for relaxation,'_ Rin thought.

"Hey Rin, can I talk to you?" Rin's mom asked, gently pushing open her bedroom door.

"Yeah, sure. Sorry Kayo-chin, I'll talk to you later. What's up?"

"I got a phone call while you were in school…"

Rin's eyes widened. "Huh? What did I do?"

"Oh no, you did nothing wrong sweetheart," her mother reassured. Rin let out of sigh of relief. "I received a call from your father."

Rin's ears perked at the mention of the 'f-word'. Rin hadn't heard from her father since he left more than ten years ago and there hadn't even been any mention of the word 'father' since that day.

She knew next to nothing about the man. She was too young to remember him when he left so she had never felt emotionally invested nor a desire to figure out who he was. She had her mother and that was all she needed.

"... What did he want?" Rin asked carefully.

Her mother sat on the bed by Rin's feet. She gently rubbed her back in circles. "Well, he wanted to know how I was doing, he asked me about how my career was going… but he mostly was wondering about his _son_ ," she explained.

Rin pressed her lips into a flat line and crossed her arms. " _He_ doesn't exist," she spat out bitterly.

Her mother sighed, "I know. I'm not sure if I agree with him on this, but he said that it'd be good, for the both of you, if you came to visit him sometime."

"So you're saying that after all these years, he randomly wants to see me?"

"He's still your father, after all. He probably wants to mend a broken relationship."

"He shouldn't have left then. Either way it doesn't matter, we've made it this far in life without him and we're just fine."

"Please just meet with him and maybe get to know him, that's all I'm asking. I'll be there with you."

Rin sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll do it."

* * *

It was another early morning practice for u's and that meant jogging up to the temple and jogging back down. The girls stopped just before the stairs. The first had to catch their breath while the second years could've kept going if they wanted to. Rin, Hanayo, and Maki were mystified as to how their seniors managed to do this every morning while hardly breaking a sweat.

Maki wiped the sweat from her brow. "It's times like this I wish I joined the soccer team instead."

"Well, I'm sure the training regiment would be just as intense if you had joined a sports team, right Rin?"

Rin's face was blank. She stood staring off into the distance at nothing in particular. Kotori waved a hand in front of her face.

"Rin?" Honoka said, gingerly touching Rin's arm with just her fingertips. The vermillion haired girl fell out of her stupor and finally looked at Honoka with glassy eyes.

"Rin, you're really out of it this morning. I-is something the matter?" Honoka asked. This caught Hanayo and Maki's attention.

Rin shook her head to dispel her previous thoughts and pawed at her eyelids. "Yeah no, nothing's wrong. I just didn't get much sleep last night," she lied. She faked a yawn.

Honoka looked at her warily for a moment, but eventually nodded slowly. She wasn't convinced, though. "I gotcha. Take it easy today." She jogged with Kotori and Umi up the massive flight of stairs.

Maki and Hanayo went up to Rin. "I actually don't believe that for a second," Maki said, her hands on her hips.

"Please tell us what's really the matter," Hanayo pleaded.

Rin should've known that they would be able to see right through her facade. She bit her bottom lip. "... I'll tell you at lunch. I don't want everyone to know about it." She really had to stop letting her thoughts get the better of her.

* * *

"Well," Sana began, slapping a paper on top of the president's desk. Eli blinked in her confusion. "Read 'em and weep."

"What is this?" Eli asked, skimming the paper up and down.

"That's forty legitimate signatures. I want that boy out of here," Sana asserted. Eli furrowed her brows, still not understanding. "You know what I'm talking about. His name is Hoshizora Rin. A first year. He needs to get out."

Then Eli's eyes widened in realization. "You keep calling them 'he'. Is this a transboy or a transgirl?"

"Does it matter? It's a boy who wants to be a girl."

"Would it kill you to use the correct pronouns?"

"Miss, that isn't my concern. Now, the petition?"

"Well? What do expect me to do with this?"

"I need you to approve and then deliver it to Principal Minami for me so she can-"

Eli interjected. She stood up from her chair so she now towered over the first year. All of the confidence Sana originally had suddenly melted into fear.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Eli asked, glaring down at Sana with darkened eyes.

Sana swallowed. Her voice wavered as she spoke but she still kept her composure. "Sana Yuki. My mother is the head designer of women's hats and other accessories at _Yuki Enterprises_ and I'm next in line to take over the business when I'm of age."

"That's very impressive but I didn't ask for a title. Who are _you?"_

Sana shrunk, taking a step back."... Sana Yuki… w-what do you mean?"

"Who are _you_ to decide who should and shouldn't be allowed to be enrolled at our school? For years we've held the standard of allowing absolutely any girl, regardless of her background, to be apart of our school. Principal Minami has always stated that when picking future students, she looks exclusively at their exam scores."

"Excuse me, but I'm simply just upholding our school's traditional values. Are you saying we should just allow any confused person into our school?"

"And what are you calling her confused for? The only one here who's confused is you. Look, why does it even bother you so much? All she wants is a high quality education, the same as you. When she goes to the bathroom, all she wants is to use the bathroom, nothing weird, same as you. If it troubles you so much then you'll just have to deal with it. No one's asking to talk to her or even look at her. Also, don't even speak _about_ her if you don't plan on using the right pronouns. Understood?"

Sana put her fear beside herself and stared Ei straight in the eyes. "You know… you won't be student council president forever… someone will have to take over your job. Maybe _she'll_ do some good."

Eli narrowed her eyes to near slits and stood so close to Sana she could feel her breath. Sana's face turned rufescent, almost rivaling a tomato.

"Yuki, if I have any say in the matter, you will _never_ have this job."


	6. Chapter 06

Chapter Six

"Okay Rin, what's the story about why you're so distant today? It's almost the end of lunch period and you haven't given any details," Maki claimed. Her fiery violet eyes glared intensely at Rin's chartreuse ones making her shrink back vulnerably.

The vermillion haired girl shuffled uncomfortably where she sat in between Maki and Hanayo underneath the tree. She idly played with the hem of her blazer as she searched for the right words to say. Hanayo gave her a reassuring look that almost managed to settle her nerves.

"I have to see my dad soon," Rin blurted out, staring ahead blankly.

Maki raised a brow and Hanayo double took. Maki turned her wrist in a circular motion. "Okay. And?"

"I don't think I've ever heard you talk about your dad," Hanayo pointed out. Out of any of Rin's friends, Hanayo was the closest to her so she of all people would've at least known something about him. But Rin had always acted as if her father had never existed in the first place.

Rin chuckled humorlessly, "That's because I haven't."

Hanayo frowned. "All this time, I didn't even think you had a dad."

"I might as well not have one at all," she paused for a beat, "he abandoned me when I was little and then yesterday he randomly called my mom for the first time in forever. He says he wants to see us again, specifically me," Rin explained.

"You're gonna see him?" Maki inquired.

Rin raised her shoulders. "I already told my mom yes, but I don't think I want to. It'd just make things weird. My little family unit is fine the way it is, nya."

"But if you don't go, aren't you always going to be wondering what he was like?" Hanayo supposed.

"Not knowing has never bothered me before."

Feeling the slightest bit more daring, Hanayo spoke up. "What would you have to gain from not going?"

Rin sighed. "Nothing. I don't understand why he wants to see me now after all this time. If he wants to get to know me, then he shouldn't have left."

"People change," Maki replied simply.

"Why wouldn't he want to see you though? Look at the type of person you're growing into," Hanayo said with a smile.

"Also maybe he left for a reason? I know you can be a little obnoxious at times, but you're also kinda fun to be around so I don't think he would've wanted to leave if he had a choice," Maki added.

Rin scowled. "I thought you were supposed to comfort me, why am I being insulted, nya?"

Maki smirked, "Think of it as a left-handed compliment."

Rin rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I can only hope that you guys are right." Rin glanced at her half empty bento lunch box in her lap. "I don't think I'm in the mood to eat anymore so I'm gonna head to the bathroom and wash up."

Rin shut her bento box and put it back inside of her satchel. With a last wave, she aimlessly wandered inside of the school, still deep in thought. She pushed open the restroom door and went straight to the sink, not even noticing the stares and glares directed at her. Rin placed her hands underneath the warm water and released a sigh she didn't realize she was holding in.

Rin took a paper towel from the wall dispenser to dry her hands. Her eyes perked when she heard an angry, shrill cry from behind her.

"I need to have a word with you!" the girl asserted, pounding a fist on her other hand.

Rin saw that this was a girl about the same height as her, with black hair tied into to small twin tails. She wore a pink cardigan. She notices the green ribbon around her neck so she must've been a third year despite her stature. Rin vaguely recognized her; they must have crossed paths before at some point.

The short girl grew closer to Rin and tried to seem as intimidating as she could. Rin didn't back down though, she held her ground.

"I'm only going to tell you this once to stop what you're doing. It's a serious offense!" the girl exclaimed.

Rin knew exactly what this was. Just once in her high school career she'd like to go to the restroom without being harassed about not being a cisgendered girl.

Rin forcefully took the girl by the shoulders earning a grunt from the latter. Rin was sick, and she was tired. "Listen, I'm just the same as everybody else. I have just as much right to be here at this school as anyone. I'm sick of people telling me who I can and can't be!"

The third year peered at her confusedly.

"I have a feeling we're not talking about the same thing…" she supposed.

Rin released her shoulders with a scoff. "You're just another girl telling me I don't belong at this school because... you know, I'm different. Just save your breath."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Uh no, I just want you to stop this idol business. You and your friends are just embarrassing yourselves. What are _you_ talking about?"

Rin felt a wave of relief crash over her. That was until she finally processed her words and she went back to glaring at the girl.

"Well, what do _you_ know about idols?" Rin asked condescendingly.

She laughed, "Is that a joke? You're looking at Nico Nico Nii Yazawa, the number one idol expert in Japan, and future super idol herself."

Now it was Rin's turn to laugh. That was pretty big talk for someone so little. Rin knew that if anyone was the number one idol expert in Japan, and destined to become a super idol in the near future, it'd be none other than Hanayo Koizumi.

"And what was so funny about that?" Nico demanded.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just relieved you're not some other girl yelling at me because I'm different. You're yelling at me because I'm in an idol group," Rin explained.

Nico blinked. "What makes you so special?"

Rin shrugged, "I just am."

"Wow, that's specific," Nico replied, flatly.

It didn't seem like Rin had much to lose at this point so she placed all her cards on the time."Alright… I'm like Egami Naoko," Rin answered, putting it in words that hopefully Nico could understand.

Suddenly Nico's eyes lit up in realization. "Ohhh! I think I heard about there being a transgirl here." Rin scowled. "Why didn't you just say that?"

"... Does that bother you?" Rin asked warily.

"Huh? Why would that bother me?"

"I don't know, it seems to bother everyone else. I thought you would start misgendering me or something, just because you can."

Nico arched a brow. "That doesn't make any sense. People don't start misgendering people just because they don't like someone. That's dumb," she said, tersely.

"You should try telling anyone else that," Rin said half-jokingly.

"If anyone gives you trouble, let me know. And get this straight right now: don't think I'm doing this to be nice to you, because I'm not. I still think that what you and your friends are doing is ruining the name of idols."

"Then why are you doing it?"

"Because even if I don't support u's, I still support the trans community."

Rin blinked. "Wow, that was… almost sweet of you," she said with a smile.

"Hey, you're Koizumi, right?"

It was Yumi Fujishiro. She had long, wavy ash-colored hair tied in a side ponytail and she had bright crimson eyes. There was an air of sophistication about her. She was the daughter of the conductor of the renowned Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. The apple clearly didn't fall far from the tree as she was the flute section leader of Otonokizaka's wind orchestra club. She was at the top of the social hierarchy.

'What is she talking to me for?' Hanayo thought. "Um, yes, that's me."

Yumi smiled. "You're adorable." Hanayo felt her cheeks flush. "I know we haven't really hung out at all, but my sixteenth birthday party's coming. It's gonna be a lot of fun and my dad's paying for the entire thing. Would you wanna come?"

"Yeah okay, that sounds fun. Could I bring my friend along if it isn't any trouble?"

"I don't see why not. Who is she?"

"Her name's Hoshizora Rin."

"Oh yea- wait, did you say Hoshizora?" Hanayo nodded timidly. Yumi's expression was unreadable. "Isn't that the tranny?"

Hanayo tried to interject, "Actually that's not a nice thing to-"

"Ugh no way, I couldn't possibly have her at a party of mine. Sure, I guess I support the transgenders and whatever, but it would just be awkward for everyone if she went. Also my father would never approve. Surely you understand."

"No, I don't understand."

"Nonetheless, even if she can't go, you'll still be there?"

"I would never. If you can't be accepting of Rin then I'd rather not go at all; it wouldn't be right."

"Please yourself then, Koizumi. Honestly, if she wouldn't let you attend a party just because she wasn't invited then I think that that makes for a pretty selfish friend. I'd say 'in my humble opinion' but my opinions aren't humble. Don't let her stop you from having a good time."

"No, but she's-"

The girl was already out the door. Hanayo deflated, sighing defeatedly. She longed to be able to stand up for Rin and be a better ally, but she was always too timid. What kind of a friend was she, Hanayo thought.

"Was scaring her into submission really necessary?" Nozomi pressed.

Eli shrugged. "It got the job done. Plus she deserved it. Seriously Nozomi, the things I heard from her that day. It makes me wonder what's happening to people today," Eli rambled on.

"That may be the case, but you don't have to be so cold all the time, you know" Nozomi knowingly chastised.

Eli raised a brow skeptically and peered at her companion. "What? Whose side are you even on?" she asked.

"Always on your side. But this isn't the Elichi I know. You're reminding me of when you first transferred here, when we were first years. The Elichi I know would resolve conflicts by keeping a level head and making compromise. She wouldn't have to raise her voice."

Eli blushed at her use of the nickname she grew fond of. She could see some merit in what Nozomi was saying but she would never admit to it. Defiantly, she shut her eyes and turned her head away from Nozomi. "Sometimes I don't even understand your language," Eli said flatly.

"I'd translate it into Russian if I could," Nozomi teased, taking a hold of Eli's hand much to the blonde's chagrin. The sensation of Nozomi's soft delicate skin meeting Eli's rough calloused skin was tantalizing and it made the latter girl shudder.

Eli rolled her eyes despite herself, "Ha ha. Now what do you want from me?"

She squeezed Eli's hand tenderly as if to pull her back to earth. "I'd like for you to learn to relax. I'd also like for you to take care of yourself; I see those bags beginning to form under your eyes and it's starting really worry me."

Nozomi was greatly saddened by the news of the school's impending foreclosure and something needed to be done to save the school–Eli was right about that–but what was it worth if it meant compromising her mental and physical health?

"It's all for a good cause. It'll be worth the struggle in the end when the school's future is secure," Eli said aimlessly. She wasn't certain who she was trying to convince, Nozomi or herself.

Nozomi released Eli's hand and looked away dejectedly. Eli bit her lip at Nozomi's disheartened look.

She paused for a moment. "Still, it is… nice to know someone's worrying about me," Eli added with a small, soft smile.

Nozomi returned the smile, her cheeks with a tinge of pink in them.

At the end of the school day, Rin found herself standing outside the piano room, extremely careful as to not make any noise. She would've casually ventured inside but she heard her two best friends speaking in hushed voices. So she waited.

"This girl in our class, she wanted me to go to her sixteenth birthday but I couldn't have gone to it," Hanayo said.

"Hmm? Why not?" Maki asked.

"She wouldn't accept Rin. I told her that if I go I'd have to bring her but she didn't like that. She said that it would everyone uncomfortable."

Maki scoffed. "Well then it's clear that she's not worth your time."

"What really scares me, though, is that for a second or two, I actually thought about reconsidering. How could I be so selfish?"

Hanayo was the selfish one here? Her and Maki were sacrificing everything, including their social lives, just so Rin could be happy and have some false sense of fitting in. If anyone was selfish, Rin knew it had to be none other than herself.

"Hanayo, you are not selfish. You're a human. Plus you still said no."

"I still wish I could've stood up for Rin better."

"Don't even worry about it. You made the right decision and that's all that matters," Maki reassured. Hanayo managed a small smile, making Maki's cheeks redden slightly. "Anyway, what's taking Rin so long?"

Before Maki could look in her direction, Rin hid away behind a nearby tree.

Maki scowled. "Hmmph. It's just like her to be late when she knows I'm giving her a voice lesson today."

After a moment, Rin sucked in her breath, spun on her heel, and walked in the room. She put on her best smile and greeted her friends as if she didn't just hear them chatting about her a second ago.

"Hey guys, how's it going?"

Maki simply shrugged. "Not much, just waiting for you."

Hanayo cleared her throat. "How was your day?" she asked.

"Eh, normal…" Rin began. Her eyes widened when she remembered her strange encounter earlier. "Oh yeah, it was almost normal but then some girl cornered me in the bathroom."

Maki doubletook. "Some girl cornered you? Do you want me to go hit her?" She cracked her knuckles.

"No, no, hear me out. She didn't corner me because I'm trans, she cornered me because apparently u's is ruining the good name of idols or something. When I told her I was trans, she was actually really cool about it."

"Oh. Well, do you still want me to hit her?" Maki asked.

"Only if you really want to," Rin replied.

"But wait," Hanayo interjected, "why does she think we're ruining the name of idols?"

Rin scoffed. "Honestly, who knows. She says that she'll be a future super idol."

Maki raised a brow skeptically. "I'll believe that when I see it."


End file.
